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The Spectacle Blog
Aaron Goldstein is pretty fired up about two things: the World Series, and sharia law.
As for the latter, I’m pretty sure he’s referencing a particular Quranic sura (2:282) that reads: …and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her.
I’m simply going to leave it to our savvy readership to decide just how wicked this verse is — and how open to interpretation it might be. My point from the very beginning was that sharia is highly interpretive, as opposed to inherently insidious. It’s an ancient religious text that can be understood from a galaxy of different perspectives.
As we all know, there’s clearly nothing in the Old Testament that could possibly hint at misogyny. Heaven forbid a seventh-century text make amends for women’s interest in legal matters, or spare them the full burden of testimony. Wait a second…hold the phone…have I just interpreted the text differently from Aaron!? How bizarre.
Oh, and I’m sure I’ve just invited a deluge of “jihadwatch.com” citations and Daniel Pipes quotes, but I’m perfectly content to hold the line for a more cosmopolitan worldview. I suppose it’s my cross to bear.
Also to Aaron — in the future, when commenting on Malaysian affairs (or perhaps Islam in general) I’d suggest you steer clear of websites that casually advocate the suspension of our constitutional republic in favor of George W. Bush’s “permanent presidency” to correct the “inadequacy” of our democracy.
I, among others, am prone to question their acuity.
View all comments (35) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Reid Smith
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/10/29/interpreting-sharia
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ECM | 10.29.11 @ 4:11PM
Alas, that "galaxy of perspectives" tends to only orbit a very narrow range of interpretations, almost always to the detriment of women. And Jews. And gays. And Christians.
Alas for all of us that the people generally meting out Koranic justice aren't interpreting it in the Reid Smith Kumbayah manner.
BD57| 10.29.11 @ 4:39PM
While I can appreciate holding a contrary view, I don't think the evidence justifies being snarky about it.
BD57| 10.29.11 @ 4:39PM
While I can appreciate holding a contrary view, I don't think the evidence justifies being snarky about it.
C Bowen | 10.29.11 @ 5:06PM
Mr. Smith,
I am a Ron Paul/Pat Buchanan sort of guy, but for whatever it's worth, your posts are always worth reading. The first couple were boring and safe, but now you are rolling with style.
I'd mention on this topic, many in the on-line mansphere point to aspects of sharia law that are anti-feminism in the context of the nasty divorce laws in this country, and still others, are interested in the illegality of interest charged on loans in sharia law.
I am quite paleoconservative on the subject, but those are two points of interest that would be widely read on the subject of sharia law.
Tom| 10.29.11 @ 5:41PM
Looks like more nonsense from the Dimwit Dhimmi.
Harold| 10.29.11 @ 6:23PM
It is entirely irrelevant how you interpret the Koran and Haddith. What matters is how Muslims do so. And they uniformly interpret their religious texts as mandating violent Jihad, totalitarian Sharia, and misogyny.
vtwin| 10.29.11 @ 7:31PM
Who is this guy who writes such nonsense? Is his real name Rayyid Ibn Simis? Is he a CAIR propagandist? I couldn't ride my Sportster in tight leather pants along with my significant other, around Mecca, without risking being gang raped by the religious police. Enough Said (pun intended). Muslims are monsters, islam is trash and koran is toilet paper. I could have a nice conversation with a tea partier anytime but I would probably have to kill a muslim before he kills me. Holy shiite!
btims| 10.29.11 @ 8:11PM
Smith is a chin-stroking, navel-gazing "intellectual", who thinks he's is so enlightened and urbane and so beyond mere American parochialism - we're all rubes and racists, aren't we Reid ol' boy?
Bottom line. Islam is a totalitarian political ideology. We would be wise to restrict or forbid it's imporation into our country. Oops, too late, there's a mosque going up on every corner of the USA.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 6:38PM
vtwin:
is this really you? Holy shit. I may need to start saying nicer things. Now say, "Israel is a major buffer state against Sharia," and I may need to buy you significant other a steak sometime if you find yourselves in Minnesota.
sjccoach| 10.29.11 @ 8:27PM
Mr. Smith is either a dhimmi or a useful idiot. Mr. Smith is an obedient slave to Islam. I've read Mein Kampf and I know what National Socialism was all about. I've read Das Kapital and know what Marxism is all about. I've read the Koran and know what Islam is all about. Where is the 7th century interpretation of the Bible put into effect? For Christians the New Testament superseded the Old Testament. The Koran is interpreted literally by most Muslims. I can bring a bible into Israel. I can't bring a bible into Saudi Arabia or many other Muslim countries. To Muslims Islam is the one true religion. You submit, which is what Mr. Smith is doing. If not they convert you or kill you.
C Bowen | 10.29.11 @ 10:10PM
The problem is that the various neocons and Reds like Goldstein use liberalism and feminism to formulate their arguments against the Muslim invasion.
It appears most posters don't understand the enemy as Mr. Smith has identified it.
Now if Mr. Smith comes out and says that importing Middle Eastern Muslims is a good idea, like George W. and most of the Ruling Class, we'll have something to argue about, but for the meantime. Mr. Smith is just calling out the BS.
ECM | 10.30.11 @ 8:55AM
Did you actually read his post? It's virtually content-free and is little more than a collection of snark masquerading as high-mindedness. And you, of course, ate it up.
C Bowen | 10.30.11 @ 10:48AM
I thought the post was a funny takedown of the Red Diaper Canadian he was mocking.
That's it.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 6:39PM
Mr Bowen: Smith hasn't identified the enemy properly. Sharia is evil as hell.
C Bowen | 10.30.11 @ 7:34PM
Liberalism is a greater threat than Sharia to Americans. I wouldn't expect you to understand that, but at least privately, concede, it's possible.
We could just stop importing and subsidizing Muslim communities--liberalism, a bit more difficult to deal with.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 11:32PM
Liberalism is supportive of sharia, as is Ron Paul. On foreign policy, he votes with Kucinich. I don't expect you to understand that. Mr. Bowen, but the two are hand in hand.
Liberals and Paulbots both refuse to admit problems with Islam.
C Bowen | 10.31.11 @ 6:35AM
That just shows how little you really care about sharia and Islam. You agreed with the Clinton-Kennedy liberal wing that Iraq was a threat as did the neocons.
You are objectively pro-Islam and just pretend to be otherwise with your nuclear holocaust song and dance.
Occam's Tool| 10.31.11 @ 1:09PM
I am objectively pro-Islam? Wow.
I wish to destroy Sharia with every fiber of my being, and careth not how many of my enemies die to accomplish this. I am as pro-sharia as Curtis LeMay was pro-Japanese Industry---in exactly the same way, with the same solution advocated.
Mr. Bowen--puhlease. Even Clint has never accused me of that.
C Bowen | 10.31.11 @ 3:32PM
Liberals do not like sharia because it does not support feminism (let alone the homosexual rights folks) which informs Western Law to our great detriment.
That does not mean conservatives should use liberal arguments against sharia--it's pretty straightforward. Traditional Chrisitianity would never give the franchise to women, for example, and conservative Christians should at least theoretically maintain being against the idea.
As to your support for interventionist governments and policies, the end result has been the flourishing of Islam and its domestic importation. You are just in denial about it, so you go on about how you want to holocaust the region--you hate which you are.
Occam's Tool| 10.31.11 @ 1:11PM
Liberalism supports Sharia. Sharia supports Liberalism--Muslims overwhelmingly support Obama. Both are threats. Why does Ron Paul vote with uber-Liberals on foreign policy? Does anyone look at THOMAS? Or do you Paul-bots just parrot press releases?
WeMustResist| 10.30.11 @ 8:47AM
"...sharia is highly interpretive..." - No it is not. The exercise of sharia depends on the political situation on the ground, but the legal pronouncements are not very diverse, because the orignal texts (Koran, Hadith) are clear enough on the big issues.
As for the Old Testament - it is not relevant. "The law of the land is the law of the land" according to Jewish legal theory. The rules of Mohammed should be the law of the land according to Islamic legal theory. Sharia is very insidious and sinister unless you are quite OK with slavery, genocide, peadophilia, extortion, kidnap, rape, violent robbery and political totalitarianism as the law of the land by divine decree.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 6:39PM
WMR: beautifully put. I gotta go home now.
Dai Alanye | 10.30.11 @ 7:49PM
It's hard for me to understand what everyone is getting excited about. Smith's statements merely need a little "interpretation." Here's mine.
Smith: "If we invite tons of Islamites to the US and give them all lessons in the proper interpretation of the Koran, they'll begin to treat women like princesses, and never study war no more."
Aint' that right, Smitty?
C Bowen | 10.30.11 @ 7:53PM
Guardiano, on this blog, has been going all Jane Fonda, cheering on the Islamic revolution for years, from Iraq to Libya, under the guise of promoting the ultimate totalitarian ideology "democracy." (Any conservative should understand the nature of 'democracy'.)
The "former" Canadian Red Goldstein uses feminism to complain about sharia.
Figure it out chaps--you have been made neutered, safe liberals, but for those who have this sense something is amiss, at least bother to appreciate Mr. Smith's approach.
vtwin| 10.30.11 @ 10:33PM
OT, I know you're right, Israel is the ONLY buffer state against ragheads, but it doesn't make me friend with jews, although I just don't hate them and I recognize they are a necessary prerequisite before any society may claim to be civilized. You just don't know me, Sir, I cannot be merely brushed away as a gay biker from Wales with a taste for practical jokes. Before moving to San Fran I used to be an officer and a gentleman, and I even had the pleasure to meet Kevin Heath when I was stationed in Sandhurst during my last year in the service. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new.....hurst.html
My extended tour in Basra really got the best of me and I'm still angry and mad at Blair, Bush and at the neocons for their responsibility in this mess and for paving the way to a greater evil. Last year I was a dying man, just surfing the net and roaming the streets of San Fran on my uninsured and very noisy Boanerges (hint!) whenever I happened to feel better, hoping to faint while riding because I couldn't stand anymore to look in the mirror at what I had become. Those days are over now, a new therapy bordering on breakthrough is giving me a new lease on life, for the time being... But the incredible thing is that a rabbi and a catholic nun from Croatia saved my soul (separately of course, because it's obvious they just can't stand each other, G-d has a weird sense of humour), displaying so much patience and kindness that I had to surrender and be nice with them. Does this mean I have changed? Definitely not. I'm still the same bloke with the same tastes for the outlandish and the outrageous. The only difference is I found peace of mind and I'm not considering my death will end it all anymore. Should I accept jews as a whole because a rabbi saved my soul? I don't think so: Despite the fact that most jews are decent citizens, that they are involved in every facet of what makes a civilisation deal with Reason and Knowledge, you also have to admit that a huge amount (albeit a minority) of jews were evil, most of the scum responsible for the election of Moe Barack is jewish, most liberals are jewish, Marx was jewish as is Soros. I know, I know, what about Ayn Rand, Golda Meir, Simon Weil (the writer, not the abortionist frog), Albert Einstein, Tal Wilkenfeld? Sure, they were, they are great people, they are necessary people. But what's wrong with you guys, that you may be either so incredibly smart, kind, gifted or so evil, so selfish, so cold blooded? Can't you just be something in between, so it could be easier to deal with you? One thing is sure, with muslims and islam, that question becomes irrelevant! I've yet to meet a muslim, most of all an arab, who is not a double talker, a pathetic liar, a traitor, a bloodthirsty psycho, a pervert and a snake. Islam brought absolutely nothing to civilization or science, just blood, tears, destruction, sorrow and ignorance. Time to ride and watch the sunset on the Bay.
Occam's Tool| 10.31.11 @ 1:09PM
Vtwin: thanks for your service.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 11:48PM
Dear vtwin: I'm sorry but the previous writer vtwin was a rampaging Liberal.
Incidentally, the Jews you want to associate with read and write Commentary. Pick it up.
To explain a few things that may help you: despite the fact that we are a little more numerous than Denmark and New Zealand put together, we have contibuted outlandishly more than our fair share to civilization. If you want my take on it, it's because our culture emphasizes literacy and the acquisition of knowledge above all things; thus, we win academic awards like the Kiwis win rugby games.
Yes, there are many evil Jews, vtwin. But you don't have polio or the fear of it because of two Jews. If you develop diabetes, Insulin was due to the work of another Jew. Many vaccines in addition to polio: Jewish work. The whole concept of do unto others as you would have them do unto you: derived from Judaism. (Hillel's work, folks.)
Shall I go through the Brits who have been great or snakelike? Should I let my view of the British be shaped by the snakes, or by the Churchills and the Wilberforces?
In this battle, in this arena, the Jews in Israel (who represent the most vibrant portion of what will constitute the Jewish nation in the future) are your allies. The fact that we are an unusual people in our potential is obvious---we are contemporaries of the Babylonians and "cool Britannia," and very few nations have maintained a consistent culture through that period.
However, consider this: Britain and Europe are finished in the fight against Islam. As George Orwell would say: "They are the Dead." The parallels between Nazi Germany and the rising Caliphate are obvious. You get your allies where you can.
As for not being particularly likeable, I plead guilty. But I do buy steaks. Let me know if you find yourself near Fargo on a bike tour with your S.O. I've got a buddy of mine I might want to take down there and feed, as he's saved my life a few times. Happy to feed ya and increase your cognitive dissonance. (By the way, you need to check out Tom Kratman's stuff, you really do.)
Cheers, vtwin.
As fopr bei
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 11:50PM
The place to get Prime Steaks in Fargo is apparently Norman's.
Occam's Tool| 10.30.11 @ 11:50PM
The place to get Prime Steaks in Fargo is apparently Norman's.
vtwin| 11.1.11 @ 8:30PM
OT I wrote you a note on the So Long Tony post by Aaron Goldstein.
Take care,
T.